may say, as our Lord did to the Jews, " If we had never been addressed upon the subject, we might have had no sin : but now we shall have no cloak for
our sin."
If I should attempt to trace this neglect of our Jewish Brethren to what I conceive to be its true cause, I must impute it, in a very considerable degree, to that ignorance of the prophetic writings which so generally prevails amongst us. They are not studied amongst us as they ought to be. Because they are in some parts difficult to be understood, we altogether wave the consideration of them : or, if we consider them at all, we involve them in tenfold obscurity, by interpreting, as relating to the Gentiles, what God has spoken primarily, if not exclusively, of the Jews. The truth is, that if, in reading the prophecies, we kept the Jews steadily before our eyes, such a light would shine upon the Scriptures as we have never before seen ; and all the purposes and perfections of God would be unfolded to us, in a new and most interesting view. But we keep that people out of sight, and never make the prophecies relating to them a subject of our ministrations. Forgive me, if I say, that to us ministers this guilt attaches in a very high degree. Our duty has been, to " declare to our peo- ple the whole counsel of God :" and yet we have passed over this subject, as unworthy of our own attention, or of theirs : and those mysteries which caused the holy Apostle to exclaim, " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding outc !" have been treated by us with contemptuous silence ; our whole conduct being, in this respect, one continued comment on our text ; " This is Zion, an outcast, whom no man seeketh after." I pray God, that the blood of that unhappy people may not be laid to our charge, or "be required at our hands d."
I cannot, however, exempt from grievous crimi- nality the Church at large, amongst whom exists a
c Rom. xi. 33. d Ezek. xxxiii. 7, 8.